This volume publishes records 57 diplomas or fragments which provide vital evidence for the Roman military and legal world. It is the second volume of four.

This volume publishes records 57 diplomas or fragments which provide vital evidence for the Roman military and legal world. It is the second volume of four.

Roman Military Diplomas V presents 154 diplomas, and incorporates them into the updated chronologies witness lists and indexes which are a key part of the Roman Military Diplomas series. A few of the diplomas were prepared by the late Margaret Roxan and some others were found after her death in preparation. Otherwise, the intention has been to bring together diplomas published by the end of 2003. But the large number included in this volume also reflects the active interest of collectors and the results of metal detecting. The lively market in diplomas has, however, also had less benign consequences and the volume has an important appendix on the production of fakes. The volume continues Margaret Roxan's Roman Military Diplomas 1954-1977 (1978), 1978-1984 (1985) and 1985-1993 (1994) which were published as Occasional Papers of the Institute of Archaeology University of London, and Roman Military Diplomas IV (2003) which was published by the Institute of Classical Studies as BICS Supplement 82. RMD IV and RMD V follow the format and continue the numbering of the diplomas and the pagination of the previous volumes.

This volume publishes records 82 diplomas or fragments which provide vital evidence for the Roman military and legal world. It is the first volume of a set of four created by Roxan, the world’s expert on this subject.

This volume publishes records 66 diplomas or fragments which provide vital evidence for the Roman military and legal world. It is the third volume of a set of four created by Roxan.

This classic work of scholarship scrutinizes all aspects of Roman military forces throughout the Roman Empire, in Europe, North Africa, and the Near and Middle East. Graham Webster describes the Roman army’s composition, frontier systems, camps and forts, activities in the field (including battle tactics, signaling, and medical services), and peacetime duties, as well as the army’s overall influence in the Empire. First published in 1969, the work is corrected and expanded in this third edition, which includes new information from excavations and the finding of contemporary scholars. Hugh Elton provides an introduction surveying scholarship on the Roman army since the last edition of 1985.

Written by a leading authority on Roman military history, this fascinating volume spans over a thousand years as it offers a memorable picture of one of the world's most noted fighting forces, paying special attention to the life of the common soldier. Southern here illuminates the Roman army's history, culture, and organization, providing fascinating details on topics such as military music, holidays, strategy, the construction of Roman fortresses and forts, the most common battle formations, and the many tools of war, from spears, bows and arrows, swords, and slingshots, to the large catapulta (which fired giant arrows and bolts) and the ballista (which hurled huge stones). Perhaps most interesting are the details Southern provides about everyday life in the Roman army, everything from the soldiers pay (they were paid three times per year, but money was deducted for such items as food, clothing, weapons, the burial club, the pension scheme, and so on) to their often brutal life--if whole units turned and ran, about one-tenth of the men concerned were chosen by lot and clubbed to death and the rest were put on barley rations instead of wheat. Moreover, soldiers who lost weapons or their shields would fight savagely to get them back or would die in the process, rather than suffer the shame that attached to throwing weapons away or running from the battle. Attractively illustrated, this book offers a fascinating look at the life of the Roman soldier, drawing on everything from Rome's rich historical and archaeological record to soldier's personal correspondence to depictions of military subjects in literature and art.